As I begin writing the March Newsletter - I find myself dreaming of spring. Imagining wildflowers springing up, envisioning trees bursting into bud, and thinking about Reds Spring Training Games. Even though we are currently experiencing below zero temperatures and several inches of snow, I know Spring is right around the corner because Impact 100 has completed the review of Letters of Intent, and has sent out Grant Application invitations.

Our wonderful non-profit agency partners have again amazed us by submitting 109 Letters of Intent addressing a broad range of community needs. We are very fortunate to have such creative and committed agencies - all seeking transformational ways to serve our community.

The Grant Focus Area Committees have completed the very difficult job of reviewing the Letters of Intent, and have narrowed the field to 29 Agencies who were invited to submit a full Grant Application. The Committees are now in recess while the invited agencies work hard to prepare their Grant Applications.

This next step provides all members with an excellent opportunity to

join a Grant Focus Area Committee. When the committees resume work in April, they will begin with training and will welcome new and old members. If you are interested, please review the choices of Committees, times and locations (posted in the "Join Us" -> "Join A Committee" section of our Web-Site -http://impact100.org/join-us/join-a-committee/, and fill out the form to let us know which Committee you would like to join. All Impact 100 members are welcome and are encouraged to join a committee.This year we will expand the number of Finalists presenting their proposals at the Annual Awards Celebration. We have traditionally had 5 Finalists - one from each of the 5 Focus Areas. Because we will award 4 grants this year, we would like to have 6-7 Finalists from which to choose. This year, each Focus Area will identify a Finalist, and will have the option of identifying a second strong Finalist candidate. The Impact 100 Board will select 1-2 additional Finalists from these candidates (Wild Card Finalists). The Finalists will all be recognized simply as "Finalists" irrespective of whether they were a Focus Area Finalist or a Wild Card Finalist.

We welcome our new Impact 100 members - all 144 of them - into the Impact 100 organization. And we welcome back a large number of our loyal, committed members from prior years. The Impact 100 organization is larger and stronger than ever! Many members are already participating in committees - both Grant Focus Area Committees and standing Committees like Recruiting, Communications, Marketing and Membership.

The new Impact 100 Board had a planning Retreat in February, and the Board Members set a goal of awarding 5 grants of $100,000+ each in 2016. This goal is a stretch for the organization - yet very achievable, and the entire Board is committed to reaching this goal. We know for each new grant the organization can fund, there is one more very deserving non-profit agency able to create a community impact via a transformational grant. We hope all our members will help us reach this goal by building awareness of Impact 100, by telling friends and colleagues about the organization, and by helping us to retain current members and recruit new members. For those who find a payment plan helpful, we offer a monthly installment payment plan - and all are encouraged to use it.

Please check out the calendar of Upcoming Events. The Membership Committee has created a broad range of activities that should appeal to the interests of our diverse members.

We look forward to hearing from you and to seeing you at an upcoming Impact 100 event.

Warm Regards,

Sharon Mitchell

President, Impact 100

JOIN us for 2016!

Many thanks to our 2015 Members for helping us transform lives in our community by giving out three grants this year!

Are you ready to renew or begin your Impact 100 Membership for 2016? Consider an INSTALLMENT plan!

Paying by installment is easy to set up and ensures that your membership payment is completed before year end. No need for reminders or invoices. Click herefor more details. With ten months left in the year, that's only $100 per month!

Come talk with regional leaders from each of our Impact 100 five focus areas to learn about and discuss issues that are affecting our TriState currently. Learn how our region compares to others and what we are doing to address those needs from a global perspective:

MYCincinnati students will perform on stage at Music Hall as part of the Macy's ArtsWave Sampler Weekend. Conducted by John Morris Russell, conductor of the Cincinnati Pops Orchestra. This is an open event and RSVP is not required.
To meet up with other Impact 100 members, please email Clare Zlatic Blankemeyer at NFP_Coordinator@impact100.org

If interested, an informal fundraising lunch for MCincinnati will follow at 1:15pm at the Symphony Hotel and Restaurant next to Music Hall.

Crayons to Computers recently invited Impact 100 members to ride along with Mobile Outreach Coordinator, Marc McEwan, as the Mobile Outreach Vehicle visited a variety of school sites around Cincinnati. This was a great way to see our Impact in Action, through a 2013 Education focus area grant recipient. The MOP would not be possible without Impact 100, and since operation opened in September of 2014, has served nearly 1,000 teachers in new service areas, almost 15,000 students and given away more than $215,000 worth of school supplies!

As you know, 100% of Impact 100 member donations are awarded to grant recipients so it is necessary for Impact 100 to seek additional donors, grants and sponsorship dollars in order to host the many events we have and to cover expenses and administration costs.

In previous years, Impact 100 solicited corporate sponsors only for the Annual Awards Celebration event. After careful consideration, we elected to enlist 2015 "annual" sponsors. In lieu of exposure at one annual event, our 2015 sponsors will receive year-long exposure on our website, at all events, as well as receive a host of additional exposure opportunity.

We expect this will be a win-win as our members will also have a greater opportunity to hear and learn more about each of our corporate sponsor's product/service offerings.

Most sponsorship levels are category exclusive so if you know of a company who might be interested, please have them contact us as soon as possible. For more information, contact administration@impact100.org.

And a BIG THANK YOU to our 2015 Advocate Sponsors: J.P. Morgan and the Elsa M. Heisel Sule Charitable Trust, along with our 2015 Friends at Ingage Partners, LLC! We appreciate YOUR support!

Member Spotlight

Cindy Howell

Impact 100 Member

Who I am?

While I am like many of the busy women in Impact100, I am also in awe of the amazing generosity and talents of the women that make this organization what it is. I am a wife, mother of grown children, small business owner, and corporate employee. We transplanted to Cincinnati as a young family with the thought of staying a couple of years. Now 30+ years later we can't imagine home being anywhere else.

What got you involved in Impact 100?

I worked with Lisa Kaminski in the early 2000's and she promised I could get as involved as I wanted. Once I went to the first awards event I was hooked.

What keeps you a member?

The impact this organization has on the community both directly and indirectly continues to inspire me. Just participating in one event reminds you of the amazing women in this community and how they truly do so much good.

Recruiting Contest

ANNOUNCING THE

IMPACT 100 MEMBERSHIP CHALLENGE

YOU - the Impact 100 members - are our best source of new members. YOUR passion, commitment and enthusiasm are powerful testimonial for Impact 100 membership.

As we STRIVE FOR FIVE grants in our future, we want to challenge each Impact 100 member to bring in new members for 2016. Won't it be exciting to award FIVE grants?!

With the MEMBERSHIP CHALLENGE comes a reward!For the first three quarters of the year (January, February, March; then April, May, June; then July, August, September) the Impact 100 member bringing in the most new members will receive a FREE 1/2 MEMBERSHIP to give to yet another new member. Watch our numbers - and the 2016 grant pool - grow! If there's a tie for the most new members in a quarter, a random drawing will select the winner. (Referred new 2016 members must commit to join and have paid in full or started funding a 2016 membership through a down payment or payment plan. Winner must identify the new member within 30 days of quarter end.)

What do you need to do to participate in the 2016 MEMBERSHIP CHALLENGE? Share the Impact 100 story ... invite friends, family and colleagues to Impact 100 events ... and, make sure YOUR new members mention YOU brought them into Impact 100.

If you want MEMBERSHIP CHALLENGE information, or Impact 100 data, contact recruiting@impact100.org. We will help you meet the MEMBERSHIP CHALLENGE because as our membership grows so do the number of grants we can award and the IMPACT we have on our community!

Thank you for your membership - and your willingness to take on the 2016 IMPACT 100 MEMBERSHIP CHALLENGE!!!